Obama’s Grassroots Ground Game

Community organizing experience fuels his presidential campaign

Democratic presidential candidate
Barack Obama’s path to the White House is being created out of his
experience as a community organizer in Chicago, a nontraditional route
to power that harnesses the grassroots, empowers individuals to find
their strengths and builds communities around attainable goals.

Obama developed this presidential campaign strategy long before the first vote was cast in the Iowa caucus in December, which he won handily thanks to his committed, organized volunteers. In fact, his decisive win in Wisconsin’s
Feb. 19 primary, where he beat Sen. Hillary Clinton 58%-41% in a state
long friendly to the Clintons, was grounded in his year-long,
volunteer-based presence in Milwaukee built on general community
organizing principles.

The victory in Wisconsin
helped Obama to secure the nomination and prove that he could compete
in supposed Clinton strongholds. In April 2007, Obama spoke to a crowd
of supporters at the Milwaukee Theatre, an event that made headlines
for his comments about the then-recent shooting at Virginia Tech.

But
more important for his campaign was the attendance of 4,000
Milwaukeeans who paid a modest $25 each to hear Obama; high-profile
endorsements from Congresswoman Gwen Moore, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett
and other civic leaders; and the meeting of Obama and Gov. Jim Doyle
for the first time at a private event. Doyle later endorsed Obama and
became an enthusiastic supporter.

Tangibly, the fledgling Obama campaign raised $250,000 at the Milwaukee events, built a network of solid supporters at a time when the New York
senator was thought to be the inevitable nominee. “And they did it all
with volunteers,” said Paul Schmitz, a volunteer leader with the
campaign.

The Ground Game
Flash-forward
a year and Obama is the likely Democratic nominee who could take the
White House with a strategy rooted in community organizing principles,
something that hasn’t been done in recent history. Instead of relying
on to-the-limit donations from wealthy party insiders and appealing to
the Democratic base in safely Democratic states, Obama’s campaign is
applying classic organizing methods to a national presidential
campaign.

Empowering individuals—the grassroots—to act for
the greater good Mobilizing large numbers of people to challenge
entrenched, moneyed interests Identifying leaders in communities and
the talents of those who are often overlooked Aiming for a concrete
goal instead of just “fighting the good fight” Finding issues of
consensus to build a majority coalition that can work together on
important issues Sharlen Moore, co-founder of Urban Underground, said
that community organizers are able to network creatively and stretch
their limited funds and resources to achieve their larger goals.

“We
do a lot with very little,” she said. Like the Obama campaign, Urban
Underground finds youth leaders via social networking sites, word of
mouth and in other organizations and schools. Moore said she isn’t
surprised that young people are so engaged in this year’s presidential
campaign.

“It’s absolutely a result of the grassroots
efforts,” Moore said. “And young people are looking for something
different that appeals to their concerns about their future.” Jeff
Eagan, former executive director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin,
said that personal relationships are at the heart of any successful
community-based effort, something Obama has done so well in small towns
and large urban areas around the country by generating enthusiasm and
encouraging new voters to get involved. Going negative and only
appealing to the elite just isn’t Obama’s style, Eagan said.

“Community
organizing is all about building relationships and developing leaders
so that average people can have the capacity to do great things,” Eagan
said.

Larry Marx, also a former executive director Citizen Action of Wisconsin,
said Obama’s intensely local focus during the primaries will serve him
well the general election campaign. The long primary fight between
Obama and Clinton provided Obama with opportunity to build a campaign
structure in all states, an important goal for Democratic Party Chair
Howard Dean.

“Even in states Obama lost, he has a grassroots
network from the primaries,” Marx said. “And he’s done that in state
after state.” Schmitz, who worked at Public Allies in the early 1990s
with both Barack and Michelle Obama, said that all Obama
supporters—even those in solidly Republican states—are important to the
campaign.

“He is not ceding anything,” Schmitz said. “He doesn’t believe in red or blue. He wants the 40% people who vote for him in Idaho
to feel engaged and empowered, and we hope that we get 50%.” Eagan said
this inclusive philosophy allows Obama to challenge likely Republican
nominee John McCain in Republican states—such as Alaska—and areas Wisconsin, such as the Fox Valley, where he can appeal to the concerns of moderates and independents.

“His campaign went well beyond the traditional sources of strength for Democrats in Wisconsin,”
Eagan said. “There are huge numbers of working people who can make a
difference if you mobilize them. His campaign knows the turf well, and
didn’t just parachute in before the election.”

Looking Ahead
Obama
is shifting his ground game from winning Democratic primaries to
running against McCain, he’s still building on his community organizing
background. The campaign just trained 3,600 volunteer leaders one day
who will work in 17 states—including Wisconsin—this
summer. The campaign selected these leaders as part of its “Obama
Organizing Fellowships,” which drew more than 10,000 applicants who
were willing to devote six weeks to building grassroots support for
Obama’s candidacy. An estimated 120 will grounded in Wisconsin, with 20 in Milwaukee. The Milwaukee office will open shortly.

The
McCain camp has attempted to build a “Citizens for McCain” coalition of
Reagan Democrats and Clinton supporters, but the effort has paled in
comparison to Obama’s grassroots efforts. McCain has resorted to
speaking to the party faithful in small, tightly controlled town hall
meetings to shore up Republican voting base.
Observers are
predicting various ways that Obama’s grassroots network can be engaged
if it achieves ultimate goal and sends Obama to the White House. Eagan
said Obama can mobilize his individual supporters to help push for
solutions to difficult problems—such as health care reform, the
struggling economy, ending the war and addressing climate change— and
to put pressure on legislators who are dragging their feet.

“You
will see him work very hard to build a majority,” Eagan predicted. “We
may not get everything want, but we can move toward a goal by taking
incremental steps.” Marx warned that a grassroots effort that’s
organized to elect Obama must stay involved in the political process
even after the election.

“My hope is that all of the new voters who have gotten involved will stay involved,” Marx said. What’s your take? Write: editor@shepex.com or comment on this story online at www.expressmilwaukee.com.